We were heading out of Richmond Hill the morning of Nov. 7 when it happened. I had carefully prepared everything I could think of to make the trip pleasant by collecting all the necessary maps, programming the GPS to plot our course and calling security. We were heading south and were already about 3 miles from home. We planned to return in two weeks.
I was even whistling a tune, looking forward to the excitement of a long trip. On trips, we take a coffee urn that holds 12 cups, and I make the coffee to fill it. Drinking coffee while driving is a favorite habit of mine. Feeling a desire for satisfying my taste, I asked my wife to pour us a cup.
“Where are the cups?” she replied.
Since the question was disturbing, I immediately looked for a place to whip around and return home to get the cups. “Leaving home with no coffee cups,” I thought, “is like crossing a desert with no canteen.” We always prepare a check list to make sure nothing has been overlooked. This time, the check list didn’t work – then again, maybe it did.
At the moment, returning home to pick up the coffee cups didn’t make sense. We could have stopped at some store and bought them. I have heard, however, that our mind plays tricks on us, and forgetting the cups may have been one of those tricks. That’s what must have occurred this time. I was never one to believe in this, but now I have been convinced.
“How could you forget the coffee cups?” my wife kept asking.
I shrugged, trying to look ashamed. Actually, I felt stupid and it was troublesome, but the question kept popping up. To me, forgetting the cups seemed less important than its significance because I sort of suspected that there was something strange about this whole matter.
When we pulled into the driveway, what do you think we discovered? We had left the front door wide open with the key in the lock. It was like an empty stage waiting for the next act with a large sign hanging above the door with the notation, “Come in and make yourself at home.”

Bond lives in Richmond Hill. He can be reached at fsb007@aol.com